1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for changing the direction of motion of flat, rectangular sheet material such as documents or bank notes.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Such apparatuses generally have a first transport path for transport of arriving the sheet material. In this first transport path the sheets are transported singly with a distance between every two sheets. Further, such apparatuses have a second transport path for further transport of the sheet material which is disposed at right angles to the first transport path. For drawing off a sheet from the first transport path to the second transport path a draw-off device is provided which draws off the sheet material without a change of position in a draw-off area.
Such apparatuses are known for example from DE-A-42 43 986, EP-A-0 622 316 and EP-A-0 505 340. In the draw-off devices described therein the sheet material is first grasped by a draw-off body and a corresponding mating roller and drawn off from the first transport path. The sheet material is then delivered to the second transport path.
A disadvantage of these apparatuses is that the draw-off bodies used are exposed to high wear due to the deceleration of the sheet material in the first transport path and the acceleration of the sheet material perpendicular to the transport direction of the first transport path, so that the draw-off bodies must frequently be replaced. Further, the delivery of the sheet material to the second transport path by the draw-off body constitutes a potential source of disturbance since jams can frequently occur in the intake to the second transport path in particular upon delivery of lower-quality sheet material.